English Language Resource Center
Changing Sentences: Punctuation
Directions: Add periods, commas, and other punctuation to this story. Retype each of the groups of words in the boxes below. There are two to four sentences in each group.(Reading and retyping will help your English improve quickly.)When you are finished, click on "Our Version" to see the answer.
Try to write your own sentence before you click on "Our Version."
1. There is an American idiom “shop ‘till you drop” which describes someone who loves to shop from the moment a store opens until it closes he or she may stop for a cup of coffee or grab a snack but she doesn’t stop shopping until she is forced to adrenaline rushes through her blood and each purchase is like a victorious trophy of war.
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2. This person views the act of shopping as if it were a competitive sport this avid shopper doesn’t just randomly enter a store to purchase a specific item but has a strategy a game plan I like to give this type of person a title “urban hunter” actually I consider myself to be a member of this group..
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3. Bergen County New Jersey has a law called “the Blue Law” this means that stores are not allowed to be open on Sundays to show respect for the Christian sabbath it also gives store owners and employees a day off for most stores are open on Saturday which is known as a very big shopping day for most Americans.
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4. There is a mall that is open on Sundays a mall is a huge indoor building which contains many stores it is great in bad weather because you can go from store to store without having to go out and freeze or faint from the heat.
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5. The name of this mall is called Jersey Gardens in Elizabeth NJ it is located at Exit 13A near Newark Airport it is extremely hard to get a parking space so you must wait for someone to leave the mall.
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6. How do you know someone is going home they are laden with packages baby carriage and screaming children they also have a desperate look on their face as they try to remember where they parked you follow them in your car as if you are a stalking predator.
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7. If you really are an urban hunter everything is carefully mapped out you leave at 9:30 a.m. sharp you take EZ Pass to avoid wasting time at the toll booth.
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8. On Sunday my cousin daughter and I set off on our shopping excursion Elaine and I both needed shoes we discussed which stores we would visit and how much time we would spend there.
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9. I had packed fruit and snacks to avoid sitting down at the food court after you spent an hour on line waiting for your hot dog you would have to take out a second mortgage in order to pay for it inevitably your child will sense your time restraints and demand to go to the bathroom.
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One night, we had invited a friend to dinner.
10. The inner motto of the urban shopper is so many stores so little time at the first store Cohoes I found the perfect pair of shoes my cousin knew my taste and size I knew hers we scoured over 5,000 pairs of shoes some heels were too high too low not the right color not the right size or not the right price these were a little on the pricey side, $50.00.
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11. However in other stores they sold for twice as much I weighed the pros and cons and made my purchase I heard the victory theme from “Rocky” as we left the store we were on our way to the next store when we encountered a stumbling block a store entitled “Discount Brand Shoes” seemed to defy us to walk past without going in. It wasn’t on our schedule it was only a detour but we succumbed.
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12. Elaine let out a shout and held up a beautiful wing-tipped black patent leather shoe with mid-sized heel size 6 for $29.99! It came in brown too!!! I applied my mathematical prowess and figured out that for only $10.00 more I could purchase two pairs of shoes instead of one.
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13. I returned to the original shoe store with my receipt in hand I would return the pricey shoes in order to buy the other two the cashier line extended to India but I patiently waited finally it was my turn I started to explain to the cashier when he interrupted and informed me that he didn’t do returns he told me to return to the front of the line and go to the cashier on the right.
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14. The transaction proved painless and I returned to the second store to purchase the shoes by that time my cousin had bought a trendy pair of taupe-colored high heels with a pointed toe.
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15. It was love at first sight I broke out into a sweat should I go over my budget and pull out the credit card in order to satisfy my consumer madness the rationalization process became activated in my mind well I could wear it for three seasons for everyday or formal use for every length skirt and I could walk in them without defying gravity.
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16. Had I not brought my six year old daughter with us we would have stayed till closing we had only gone to two or three stores and the sun was still shining this annoyed us normally we would have to be escorted out the store as the clerk would lock the door behind us burdened with packages and a sugar-rushed child we made our final trip to the ladies room and headed out toward the expansive parking lot.
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17. I looked out at the cars I drew a complete blank as to where we parked so did Elaine my daughter saved the day as she led us from row to row suddenly my blue Nissan greeted us like a patient pet and we started our journey up the Turnpike. Carpe salum: seize the sale.
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Original written by Shashi Ishai, Professional Tutor in the
English Language Resource Center at Bergen Community College, NJ
Posted September 9, 2008